News and Notes from the Principal
The past few months and weeks have us all eager to get back to normalcy, but we understand that there are several elements of unknown that the district/state/nation are processing in order to make the most informed decisions as it pertains to the health & safety of our students, staff, families and our community stakeholders! As information becomes available with a solidified plan, we will do our very best to keep all stakeholders informed through the various channels of communication!
While school officially ended in May, the administrative staff has worked tirelessly to plan and place students in classes for the upcoming school year. These schedules will be released on Monday, July 6, 2020 for you to review and plan for the year ahead. Please see the information in the newsletter below for additional details regarding scheduling as well as many other topics of interest.
With a new year and steady growth comes new faces to RHHS! We are pleased with the high-quality staff members that we have been able to add to our educational family! We too think that you will reap the benefits of these fine educators in the months and years to come! The thing that stands out the most and truly draws quality staff to RHHS is the community support and stakeholders like you that have a vested interest in the overall success of the school district. Thank you for your unwavering support.
When it comes to support, we are well aware and planning for our students to return to a supportive RHHS environment! We understand that the recent months have been eventful, traumatic and ultimately life-changing for all our our students! Coupling COVID-19 trauma, social justice inequities and the stress of the day to day we are prepared to tackle these issues together and continue to build on the achievements and successes for which RHHS has become known. As educators, we understand that our job is much deeper than the content and truly take great pride in creating opportunities and providing high levels of support for ALL students! We stand by this pledge and look forward to working with you this upcoming year! After all, we are #BetterTogether as we #BTH at Richmond Hill High School.
#WeAreRH
Bivins Miller
News from the Superintendent
Dear Bryan County Schools Families,
I can only imagine how difficult it is for you and your student(s) as you wonder what school might look like next year as a result of COVID-19. Rest assured, system staff have been working hard to stay current with agency guidelines related to the safe operation of schools. The district continues to partner with the Governor’s Office, Georgia Department of Education, Department of Public Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other advisory agencies to prepare for the reopening of schools. One of the most challenging aspects of this work is that restrictions and guidelines can change on a weekly basis.
The 1st Day of School
I am going to assume one question that is extremely important to all of you right now is whether we plan to reopen our schools. On behalf of over 1,300 employees I can confidently say, we miss our students, parents, fine arts performances, athletic competitions, special events, and community involvement. So, the answer to that question is a resounding, “YES!” Currently, our plan is to follow our board approved school calendar for 2020-2021 and open school for in-person instruction on August 5th. This may be the most memorable 1st day of school ever in my 24 years in public education!
Reopening Schools and Preparedness
I know each of you wants to know exactly what school will look like in August, and I truly wish I could tell you. What I can tell you is not knowing is definitely not due to a lack of interest or planning. System staff and principals have worked diligently to come up with a variety of scenarios and options constructed around the most current COVID-19 information and guidelines. Because we are cognizant that guidelines, restrictions, and expectations for public schools continue to evolve, we want to be prudent about giving information concerning the particulars about school opening so the message doesn’t change multiple times prior to August 5th. With that in mind, our goal is to be able to give you more detailed information on July 17th.
Open House
Open House is one of the most important days at the beginning of every school year. It is a time when students and parents can meet their teachers and go over things such as schedule, transportation, clinic needs, supplies, etc. Considering the number of people who usually attend these events and that we must have control over who has access to our school buildings and staff, we will not be holding the traditional face-to-face Open House events for the 2020-2021 school year. Each school is working on an innovative plan to address the needs that are usually taken care of at Open House, and you should receive this information from your child’s school on July 20th.
E-Learning
If some restrictions are not lifted and/or lessened we will be forced to, once again, provide instruction through an online format similar to what occurred from March to May. One example of such a restriction is student transportation. Current guidance and restrictions require that we only transport 11 students per bus versus the 50 students we normally transport. As you can see, this current guidance would create an impossible barrier to providing in-person instruction, considering we transport almost 7,000 students every morning and afternoon. Our desire is certainly to open school in-person and on time; however, in order to prepare for a worst case scenario, we are asking you to complete the following e-learning survey (Link to BCS Parent Survey).
Even though I can almost guarantee something will change between now and the 1st day of school on August 5th, please know you have a dedicated group of educational professionals working extremely hard to proactively navigate the complexities of next school year. Our highest priority continues to be the well-being of our students, staff, and community.
I look forward to sharing additional information with you on July 17th.
Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.
Student Schedules
Athletic Ticketing - Go Fan
Richmond Hill High School and Richmond Hill Athletics are excited to announce the use of Go Fan for our sporting events. Go Fan allows all event spectators to purchase tickets prior to events, or at the gate through your mobile device, avoid long lines, and limit person to person contact. Please see the attached flyer for more information, with more to come, as we get ready for our 2020-2021 athletic season. Go Wildcats!!
American Red Cross Blood Drive
WHEN: Friday, July 31st, 8am-2pm
WHERE: Richmond Hill High School, West Blood Drive will be held at West Campus Gym (entrance off Harris Trail)
National Honor Society – service hours counted for your donation – other organizations needing service hours, please check with your sponsors.
MORE INFORMATION:
The American Red Cross Blood Drive will be located in the West Gym off Harris Trail from 8am to 2pm. Follow this link and enter the sponsor code RHHS to select a time to donate.
Link to S’more newsletter with additional blood drive information.
High Stakes Testing Feedback
June 29, 2020 – The Georgia Department of Education announced today an online survey to get the public’s feedback on a waiver of the high-stakes testing requirement in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) for the 2020-2021 school year. ESSA requires that the public and any interested school districts have an opportunity to comment and provide input on all waiver requests.
2020 - Graduation Pictures
Graduation Day photos taken by Lifetouch are accessible by using this link: https://link.shutterfly.com/BR0yMpgJT6 . You are welcome to download the pictures for free, post to social media, order prints from Shutterfly or even print locally. Thank you to Lifetouch for providing these pictures to the Class of 2020!
Class of 2021 Senior Pictures
Summer Reading & Assignments
All students have a summer reading assignment, and some AP courses have summer assignments. Please click the link below to find out what reading/assignments are expected of your child(ren) over the summer.
Parking Permits
All students parking on campus, including dual enrolled students must have a parking permit. Parking permits should be displayed by the first day of school, August 5, 2020.
"Click Here" to access the student parking permit information and application for 20-21SY.
Regular Sale Permits: $65.00
Qualifications to Purchase a Parking Permit during the Regular time periods:
- Not on Obligations List
- Passing or passed at least 75% of classes
*Students with more than 6 absences and/or tardies (for second semester, 19-20) will be able to purchase a parking permit with a signed attendance contract. The attendance contracts will be made available to those students who must have this in order to purchase a parking permit.
*Students who do not meet the Academic expectations will be able to purchase parking permits beginning the second nine weeks. All of the above qualifications must continue to be met in order to apply at the second nine weeks and purchase a parking permit for $65.00.
Student Council Elections
RHHS will hold Student Council Elections in August 2020. If you are interested in running for office, please fill out the Intent to Run form and review the Campaign Guidelines form by August 7, 2020. We will hold a Campaign Meeting on August 10, 2020 to kick off our election process.
